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19-5-2003 - Go Pills Pale next to LARIAM

3:13 pm GMT

What in the hell is in the minds of the US military? Shouldn't the murders and suicides in Fort Bragg after Afghanistan prove something to them? All the men who killed their wives after returning to North Carolina had taken an anti-malaria drug, Lariam. This is a frightening, scary drug which causes long lasting psychosis and can even lead to suicide. After reading more on this, I'm dumbfounded at the stance of the US Army.

This is from an article, very informative, culled from a 60 Minutes report on Lariam called 'The Dark Side Of Lariam'. It went into the murders in Fort Bragg and cited other horrifying cases of other innocent victims of this drug. Guess who created it?

"It was invented by the U.S. Army and is routinely given to soldiers deployed overseas. In scientific terms, Lariam can cause neuropsychiatric adverse events. In plain language, it can make lose your mind. No one questions Lariam’s effectiveness in preventing the deadly disease of malaria. Millions of tourists and other world travelers have taken it with no problem.

According to its own internal documents, Roche pharmaceuticals, Lariam’s maker, has received over 3,000 reports of psychiatric problems associated with the drug, from nightmares, depression and hallucinations to paranoia, psychosis and aggression."

This was the clencher. "Unlike the U.S., Great Britain, Germany and Australia did not give their soldiers Lariam in Afghanistan, opting instead for those alternatives. But as the United States prepares for the possibility of war with Iraq, some American troops are already being given Lariam.""

I started researching this after receiving a disturbing email from a friend in North Carolina who says her sister is over the edge because she believes her husband was given Lariam and he's just returned from Iraq and is acting totally bonkers. She's scared witless she may be another victim. She's afraid to talk to anyone in authority, and says other wives have said their husbands are acting in very bizarre manners. The following report gives credence to her fears.

"Friends of the three Fort Bragg soldiers suspected of killing their wives this summer say the men exhibited unusual anger and incoherence after returning from Afghanistan where they were given an anti-malaria drug associated with aggression and mental problems.

Soldiers at Fort Bragg said they are well aware of mental problems linked to the anti-malaria drug Lariam, which include aggression, depression, paranoia, hallucinations and suicidal thinking, even as official military spokesmen dismiss a connection between the drug and the events around Fayetteville this summer which have drawn national attention.

When this story of the murders and suicides first broke in June, the drug wasn't mentioned -- only that the stresses of war could push them over the edge.

"A string of slayings involving the wives of Fort Bragg soldiers has raised concerns in this military community about the stress wartime deployments may be adding to already shaky marriages."

Another take. "There had been no domestic killings within the Fort Bragg garrison, which includes the Delta Force special forces troops, for more than two years until the men began returning from Afghanistan duty.

Henry Berry, the manager of family programmes at the base, said: "It's mind-boggling. To be absolutely honest, I was completely caught off guard. We're going to look at these cases to prevent similar cases happening in the future."

From two articles written in August 2002. The first. "Spokesmen for the Army, which invented the drug and says it is safe, told UPI the Army will review scientific literature on Lariam, also called mefloquine, but believe it played no role in any of the deaths because there is evidence of domestic problems in each one.

Over the years, Lariam's label, written by manufacturer Hoffmann-La Roche and approved by the Food and Drug Administration, has included increasingly troublesome side effects, and warns about aggression, paranoia, psychosis, hallucinations and suicidal thinking. Some patients complain of severe side effects lasting years after they stopped taking the drug."

The second. "A domestic violence expert who advises the Pentagon said Thursday that the military should look into whether an anti-malaria drug associated with aggression and suicidal thinking could have triggered any of the recent incidents in which Fort Bragg soldiers are suspected of killing their wives and, in two of the cases, also killed themselves."

After describing efforts to link the drug to the psychotic behaviour of the returning men, the good old Army had this to say.

"Army officials told UPI that they have no plans to look at a possible link between Lariam and the incidents because they do not believe the drug could have been a factor. They would not confirm that the soldiers took Lariam."

A Canadian government official who has investigated a murder-suicide attempt that he believes is related to Lariam also called for the Army to look at the drug's possible role.

"Given my experience investigating Lariam, it would seem to me it would be worth investigating," Canadian member of Parliament John Cummins said in a telephone interview."

Check this out, I'm disgusted they didn't mention their continuing use of Lariam. "May 14. The Army today announced a sweeping overhaul of how it will help soldiers returning from combat duty and other overseas tours to readjust to civilian society.

Under a new program that for the first time sets Army-wide standards, commanders down to the squad level will use a checklist to identify whether soldiers might be at risk for things like alcohol abuse, disciplinary problems, domestic violence or depression and refer those who need help to counseling or military chaplains.

Commanders down to the squad level — nine-soldier units — would use a checklist to help identify soldiers at risk. Questions commanders would consider include: Did any soldier seem to be a loner? Did any soldier have any incidents of domestic violence prior to deployment?

Many of the services to be offered are voluntary, and Army officials today acknowledged that they still faced serious challenges in changing a climate within the Army that has discouraged soldiers from seeking help with their personal problems.

"It should be O.K. to get help," Colonel Milliken said. "It shouldn't affect your career."

But officials conceded that they had not acted on an important recommendation from the Army inquiry into the Fort Bragg killings to deal with this problem. That inquiry had recommended the creation of a pilot program to dispatch military mental health workers to the field at the brigade level, not just at higher headquarters."

I don't buy that at all. After all I've read, I'm convinced Lariam was responsible for the madness in North Carolina and I won't be surprised to hear of more in the future as troops return from Iraq. There are drugs just as effective and I cannot understand why the Army won't use them instead of Lariam. Is it because they invented it? That would be a really lame and weak reason to continue its use. I don't get it. I advised my friend to tell her sister to move, and move fast, lest her fears become reality.

I've never been more convinced of the stupidity of the US Army. Bah! For extensive information on Lariam, visit lariaminfo. The site begins with this. ""I'd give anything if I could feel like I did. . . be the person I was, before I took Lariam!""

"Drugs are a bet with your mind."
--Jim Morrison

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